Climbing Mt. Daguldol

I got a text one Friday afternoon from Astrid, asking if we are free the next day Saturday. She invited us to go to Laiya with them as part of her husband’s camping class. After a lot of sweet talking mainly directed to Henry, we packed our bags and anticipated a weekend of relaxed living and pa-cute climb. After all, we are going to the beach!

I was wrong!

We really had to climb Mt. Daguldol which is located in San Juan, Batangas. It is about 670+ meters above sea level with an estimate of 5 hours to complete the climb. It has a difficulty level of 3/9 with trail class 1-3.

Even though this mountain is one of the easier ones, we were not prepared to experience the full on summit climb while drizzling making the path wet and muddy. I was especially proud of both Julia and Ara for reaching the summit and being our group leaders. We left the house after lunch at around 1pm, reached the summit at 3:30 pm, and was back by 7pm. They survived six hours of walking on the ultra muddy trail! We even passed two groups while going down.

We had a stop over at the middle of the trail to eat halo-halo and mais con yelo. The college students said that they really had to reach the top because of the kids. It would be a little shameful if they will back out! I myself found it hard to continue but because I’m with them, I just can’t quit. Julia and Ara really served as an inspiration to keep going. According to the camp counsellors every one reached the summit and got down safely (even with the slippery trail), as opposed to their other climbs. Probably because we have these two over enthusiastic kids with us.

To end the day, they even went and participated in the Camp Socials while the nanays already slept!

Because we really did not prepare (nakakahiya sa Girl Scouts), Here are reminders for next time!

Wear proper gear. We were only wearing our rubber shoes and this became a problem while we were going down. The trail was so muddy that I kept on slipping. There was no traction because our shoes were caked in mud. They said that this was not climbing but skating instead. Luckily we have jackets and caps and these helped when it rained.

Bring food and water in a backpack. I did not bring food because I was still in denial that this was an easy climb. I did bring water for both of us but I held it the whole time making balancing difficult.

Use a walking stick. Astrid gave us walking sticks to make the descent easier. It really does aid in balance.

Bring money. Although this might not be the case for all trails, in Daguldol there are stores where you can buy food and basic items. Julia ate an egg, banana-q, and cup noodles at the summit! nagutom! We also bought three eggs to eat on our way down.

Bring a flashlight. We did not expect that we will still be out after sunset. Luckily since we joined the camping class, one of the counsellors lent us his flashlight. We also used our cellphone lights but this is not advisable since we all know how short cellphone batteries last.